Mauyak, Shedd's 37-Year-Old Beluga, Is Pregnant

CHICAGO, IL — Queue up the Raffi! It looks like the Shedd Aquarium is about to have a new baby beluga. Mauyak, a 37-year-old beluga, is pregnant.

Mauyak (pronounced MY-ak) is "progressing beautifully, and our suite of veterinarians and beluga care team are working in sync to regularly check her and the developing calf,” said Steve Aibel, Shedd's senior director of marine mammals.

A beluga's gestation period is 14 to 15 months, according to SeaWorld. Mauyak is expected to give birth in the summer of 2019.

The pregnancy isn't just a benefit for Mauyak and the beluga species. As animal scientists work to understand belugas better, fully documenting and analyzing a live pregnancy and birth give scientists tons of information to help preserve the species.

"With each beluga pregnancy, and each birth, experts at the aquarium have the rare opportunity to observe, document and collect data that adds to our overall scientific understanding of the species. This would be difficult, if not impossible, to do in the wild," Shedd's press release said.

Animal scientists use the information they learn during pregnancies to "help strengthen the skills necessary for Shedd’s Animal Response Team to lead rescue, rehabilitation and release efforts," the release said.

How do they help? Here's how, Shedd said:

For example, last year Shedd joined a team of experts in Alaska to provide triage for a stranded beluga calf that is part of the critically endangered subpopulation of belugas in Cook Inlet.

"There is no better feeling than taking what we learn at Shedd and applying it to a rescue operation in the field or a conservation effort to safeguard this species,” Shedd's chief animal operations officer Peggy Sloan said.

The release said Mauyak's days won't change much at this point, but she'll have regular checkups and ultrasounds.

Mauyak means "soft snow" in the Inuit language. She's an experienced mother, the release said, having given birth in 2012.

Click to see Mauyak's sonogram.

Article image ©Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez